Improvement in car-roofs



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HIRAM ALDRIDGE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-ROOFS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,739, dated October 3,1876; application filed August 4, 1876.

To all whom it may concern;

Beit known that I, HIEAM ALDRIDGE, ot' the city and county of St. Louis,and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement inRoofs for Gars and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in whichFigure l is a perspective view of my improved car-roof. Fig. 2 is adetailed longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a crosssection ofthe same 5 and Figs. 4 and 5 are similar sections representingmodifications of my improvement in roofs. Y

The object of my invention is to make a light, durable, and cheap rooffor a car, which roof is water and re proof, and of very simpleconstruction.

In the accompanying drawings, Areprcsents the upright boarding of a car;B, the purlins, and O the car-lines. The said purlins and car-lines arecovered with corrugated metal sheets D, their corrugations following theslope of the roof. The corrugated sheets used may be of any length; butthey are arranged upon the said car-lines and purlins in layers orsections parallel with the purlins, and so that they overlap each othersidewise and length'- wise. The side overlappin gs are in every casearranged in a straight line from the eave to the ridge, so that they maybe covered by tightly-fitting strips E, which have grooves e matchingthe corrugations of the metal. The said strips E are held down upon theVmetal covering by longitudinal ties F, two of which are generallysufficient. The ties F are fastened to the car-lines and purlins byscrews f, or other means, which pass through the ties, through thestrips E, and through the lapped corrugated metal sheets D. The lowerties F are provided with bearing-blocks f1 between the strips F, wherebythe corrugated sheets D are firmly vpressed down upon the eaves, whichare strengthened by top or eave boards G. The said bearingblocks f1 arenot tted into the corrugations of the sheets D, but rest 0n top, so thatrain or other water may freely pass beneath them. lf the sheets D arearranged to abut at the ridge, I cover the ridge with a ridge-board, H,which I place between the upper ends of the strips D. The said up- Y perends d of the strips D are so shaped that two of them leave a dovetailedspace, into which the inclined sides of the ridge-board are fitted. Thebottom of the ridge-board is shaped to fit upon the tops of thecorrugations y of the sheets D. By this construction a very slightfastening, by means of nails or screws, is required to preventlongitudinal movement of the ridgeboard. A ridge-cap,D1,of corrugatedsheet-metal, may be used to more effectually cover up the ridge abutmentor joint, or

center car-line O', which is therefore made much stron ger than theother car-lines. Between the upper ties F, and upon the ends of thestrips E, the runnin g-board I is fastened, and by raising the saidupper ties by means of block f2 to the level of the running-board, Iincrease the width of the running-board and the safety of its passage. Ido not intend to confine myself to the construction above described, asI do not intend to lay claim to the modes only of overlapping corrugatedmetal sheets upon roofs, and I, therefore, state some other modicationsin the mode of covering roofs with corrugated metal sheets, which areapplicable to my improved mode of fastening and of making themwater-tight in the above-stated manner.

It should be understood that the construction of my improved roof ismost compensating in an establishment where cars of different classes orgrades are built. ThereI would select sheets long enough to pass overthe ridge from eave to eave for first-class cars, for reasons well knownto skilled men. Gars of the second rate could be covered in the man-11er above described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, andthe remnants left from the original sheets, as supplied by the rolling-mills, could be used for covering thirdrate cars, where appearance isno object. The ties F and the strips E are ordinarily made of wood,which, although combustible, does not suffice in quantity to diminishthe safety of the car in a contlagration. The ties F and strips E may beof metal or they may be of' wood, and covered or capped with metal.

In covering shipscabins and other exposed roofs of little slope it isadvisable to make use of the longest kind of corrugated sheets in orderto avoid overlappings across the corrugations, which would be apt toleak.

It is seen that by my improved mode of fastening the sheets to theframe-work of the roof I am enabled to fasten the said corrugated sheetvery firmly, and also to make the joints and laps water-tight with butfew screws or bolt-s, thus necessitating only a small number ofperforations through the metal plates, and lessening the labor in theconstruction of such roof. The described mode of fastening does notprevent the corrugated metal sheets from contracting and expanding underthe influence of the surrounding atmosphere, nor do the effects injolting of the car upon the frame ofits rooi'in such manner with thecorrugated sheets as to strain or disarrange them, as the places ofdirect fastening are far enough apart to permit a slight momentaryvibration or deviation of the connected parts.

A decided advantage is gained by my im proved car-roof in regard toweight. It has actually been proved that a car, the old roof of whichhas been removed and substituted by one of my improved construction,weighs between five and six hundred pounds less than by any other knownconstruction. Thus five or six hundred pounds of dead weight are removedfroin ac'ar withoutiinpairingits strength or capacity. rlhis is the mostimportantitem of my invention, and is duly appreciated by every railroadman.

The above-described improvement is applicable to all other kinds ofroofs, either in the same form or with slight modifications.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. A car-roof consisting of corrugated metal sheets, joint or lapcovering cross-strips, and longitudinal ties arranged and fastened uponthe frame-work of a car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of the eaverboard, thel bearing-blocks, and thecorrugated metal sheets, substantially as and for the purpose,

set forth. v

3. A superstructure or top-frame consisting of lap or joint coveringcross-pieces, and of longitudinal ties, whereby the said cross-piecesEIRAM ALDRIDGE.

Witnesses:

J AMES MARTIN, J r., A. G. HEYLMAN.

